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Most unwelcome milestone. World hits 400 PPM

News.... and a milestone about which we should all be concerned about. But are Governments doing anything? Nope! Head in the sand ostrich-like is far safer than taking on a challenge which not only affects us all, now, but will for generations to come.

"We did it, and it's nothing to cheer about.

The world hit the "sobering milestone" of 400 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 on Thursday—a first in human history—marking "a moment of symbolic significance on road of idiocy" the world has chosen, as well as a call for urgent climate action.

Reaching this threshold level represents a global failure to address the runaway greenhouse gas emissions; as Al Gore wrote today, it shows "we are reaping the consequences of our recklessness."

Hitting 400 ppm "symbolizes that so far we have failed miserably in tackling this problem,” Pieter P. Tans, who runs the monitoring program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the New York Times.

And if you're experiencing a sense of doom that we've reached a level of CO2 the Earth hasn't seen for at least three million years, you're not alone.

At theGuardian, George Monbiot slams the 400 ppm mark as "a moment of symbolic significance on road of idiocy." The problem is the overarching power of fossil fuel companies, he writes.

The problem is simply stated: the power of the fossil fuel companies is too great. Among those who seek and obtain high office are people characterised by a complete absence of empathy or scruples, who will take money or instructions from any corporation or billionaire who offers them, and then defend those interests against the current and future prospects of humanity.

This new climate milestone reflects a profound failure of politics, in which democracy has quietly been supplanted by plutocracy. Without a widespread reform of campaign finance, lobbying and influence-peddling and the systematic corruption they promote, our chances of preventing climate breakdown are close to zero.

So here stands our political class at a waystation along the road of idiocy, apparently determined only to complete the journey."

"Palestinian municipal elections were supposed to be held last week. Instead, they were canceled. A statement released by the Palestinian Authority claimed the cancellation was "in order to pave the way for a successful end to the siege on Gaza and for continued efforts at unity" between Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and the government in the West Bank.

The cancellation of this election was an unjustified, unlawful, and unacceptable act. It damages democratic rights and makes a mockery of the interests of the Palestinian people.

But this is far more than an internal Palestinian issue. The only lasting peace between Isr…